Pietrasanta has changed a lot since I was last there at least a decade ago. The small radical-chic town in northern Tuscany famous for an alternative artsy crowd has become a bustling resort, packed with bars and restaurants and people ... More
Winched up from the depths onto the recovery vessel come crate after crate packed with glistening bottles shedding their last drops of salty water onto the deck. Not some ancient cargo finally salvaged from the abyss: just a Ligurian winery's 2010 ... More
One of the best beds I've slept on in a while was way up in FVG, on a hill not far from Gorizia which gives its name to an outstanding Collio region estate, Russiz Superiore, property of one Marco Felluga. Not that we realized that ... More
Finding the dalleVigne Wine Loft requires a bewildering transit through an industrial estate. But once you reach it, it's quite a find. As a restaurant, it's known for consistently superior cuisine, beautifully presented, in a smart but relaxed ambiance with a marvellous view ... More
The sweeping view from the winery encompasses rolling hills planted with neat rows of vines receding to a backdrop of distant mountains. Less predictably, looming in the foreground are giant sculptures and art installations. From family vineyard yielding no more than 1000 ... More
A fine retreat at any time of year, the Castello di Semivicoli has a particular attraction during these sultry dog days: it's just 20 minutes from the Adriatic coast and 20 km from the Majella mountain nature reserve, in the hilly heart ... More
A half-hour boat ride northeast of Venice, and notwithstanding its connection to Burano (albeit via an impossible wooden bridge), Mazzorbo is one of the lesser islands in the lagoon, sparsely populated and happily overlooked by tourists. This is where you'll find Venissa, an estate, ... More
It's Vinitaly time again, when experts and oenophiles in general flock to Verona for some serious Bacchanalian business and not a little merrymaking. The 46th grand wines and spirits fair at Veronafiere, bigger and better than ever, unrolls one of the rare flourishing sectors ... More
Osteria del Sole is an off-beat bar that's been open for generations, since 1465 they assure us, tucked away in an alley in the historic centre of town, a stone's throw from Piazza Maggiore. It's understated, to say the least, with ... More
Tobia Scarpa is the architect of the recently completed Tenuta delle Ripalte winery on the island of Elba, the largest in the Tuscan archipelago, only 10 km from the mainland and remarkably unspoiled. Like his father Carlo Scarpa, Tobia has a long and distinguished career ... More
New premises for award-winning winery Nals Margreid, up in the Trentino Alto Adige region famed for its high-altitude orchards and vineyards. This season's harvest, from 140 growers making up the cooperative with crus spread over a wide area around Magrè and ... More
Oliviero Toscani: photographer, designer, thinker, mover, shaker, horse-breeder, want-maker and as of late, winemaker. The new family business occupies 12 hectares of prime Tuscan wineland just outside Pisa. Our wine, like our lives, is the image of past, present and future, filled ... More